Raichur : Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led-Central Government's demonetisation policy, dubbing it as the root cause of poverty and unemployment in the country today.

Addressing a rally in Raichur, Karnataka, Rahul said, "On November 8, Narendra Modi made all the cash we had in our bags defunct. The poor farmers used to buy seeds and fertilisers using that money. Why didn't they think about the farmers that time? India's economic condition is worse than what it had been for the past seven years."

Speaking on the agrarian crisis in the country, he said that the Congress, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has always worked to waive off the loans for the farmers.

"If they can exempt the top businessmen of taxes and loans in the country, why can't they exempt the farmers?" he said.

He added that the farmers in Karnataka and Punjab, two Congress-run states, have the least amount of farmer suicides in the country.

Rahul Gandhi also said that the Congress is continuously working to improve the situation of employment in the country.

The Congress vice-president also said that the Congress is in support of all the families who lost their children in the Gorakhpur tragedy in Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking on Article 371 (J), Rahul said that Article 371 (J) was implemented in Karnataka as soon as the Congress came to power in 2004.

"Earlier, L.K. Advani had refused to grant Karnataka the special status. We did it as soon as we came to power in 2004," he asserted.

Comparing the work done by the Congress with the BJP in the state, he said, "We have invested the same amount of money in three months as BJP had in five years. We have built roads and helped people with employment in the state."

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee held a rally felicitating Rahul Gandhi for the amendment introduced to Article 371 (J) providing special status for Hyderabad Karnataka region, during the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre.